Clubs

British Cycling can help you to find a club that’s right for you. Use the club finder link to find a club near you. There are some great cycling clubs in and around Watford who'll be happy for you to come along and ride with them, including:

Watford Cycle Hub - A British Cycling registered Go-Ride club for the community The Pavilion c/o Holywell Community Centre (King George V Playing Fields) off Tolpits Lane WD18 9QD 01923 223 994www.watfordcyclehub.org.uk in the community for the community

Commuting

Watford is an excellent place to cycle, with long distance cycling paths and a network of on-street and traffic-free cycle lanes. This gives bike commuters from the outlying districts a selection of routes to commute into Watford's cylce-friendly High Street.

Cycle route provisionNational Cycle Network Route 6 passes across the southern fringe of the town centre. NCN6 is a long distance route which begins in London and ends in the Lake District. Locally however, NCN6 is known as the Ebury Way, a 3.5 mile former railway line which links Watford and Rickmansworth. As well as providing a safe, traffic-free way for cyclists commuting into town, the Ebury Way is a well established ‘green corridor’ leisure route, crossing the Colne, Chess and Gade rivers, as well as the Grand Union Canal, with plenty to see along the way.

The canal towpath itself is another long distance cycling trail, joining the town to the west at Cassiobury Park, which itself has a number of traffic-free paths enabling cyclists heading in from the west to reach the edge of the town centre avoiding major roads.

These national and regional level routes are complemented by a spoke-like system of on road cycle lanes that converge on Watford’s cycle friendly High Street, which features contra-flow cycle lanes, on road and off-road paths.

Cycle parkingCycle parking abounds in Watford town centre, with over 20 locations on the High Street alone. There’s also dedicated cycle parking at Watford Met, Watford Junction and Watford High Street railway stations.

Cycling and trainsAs mentioned above there’s good cycle parking provision at all three of Watford’s railway stations. In terms of taking bikes on trains, cyclists should refer to the cycle carriage restrictions of individual rail operators, details of which can be found via this link.

Bike ShopsWatford town centre is well served with bike shops, with The Bike Stall in the Harlequin Shopping Centre, Halfords on Dalton Way (close to the Ebury Way), while Cyclopedia is on Cassio Road. For an excellent repair service visit www.watfordcyclehub.org.uk at the Holywell Community Centre, Watford Cycle Hub now provide a Mobile Cycle Mechanic service at Watford Junction every Monday between 6am & 6:30pm

Don’t leave home without...Watford Town Council’s excellent Watford Cycle Map, detailing on and off road cycle lanes and cycle parking locations throughout the Watford area. Also check out their maps for the Ebury Way and The Grand Union Canal.

Support

Watford Cycle Hub

Situated in the Pavilion at the Holywell Community Centre, Watford Cycle Hub is a non-profit community bike centre in West Watford. The Cycle Hub provides a range of bike related support including repair services, maintenance courses, cycle training and they even recycle old or unwanted bikes. It's also a great place to go if your looking more information or advice about cycling in and around Watford - with cycle maps, information about local guided bike rides and other cycling opportunities.

Green Generation’s aim is to collect old, broken and hopelessly waiting to be used bikes and transform them into ‘Green Bikes’. Every bike that they work on is cleaned, checked and repaired or painted if needed to make them look special.

Where to ride

Whatever kind of cycling you enjoy, there are lots of places to do it in and around Watford.

British Cycling and Sky have come together to help get even more people riding their bikes and falling in love with cycling. However you ride, we've created a whole range of ways for you to get involved - from big traffic-free events, to local guided rides; from women-only rides and support, to tips, ideas and great routes.